A New Year's Serve

[bottle]

Have you noticed that nobody participates in your innocuous nonsense?

The important thing is that I keep going. Whether anybody reads me doesn't matter.

(Hmm, let me see, 57,756 views as of today.)

[bottle]

Oughtta quit right there, right? Usually, though, I do whatever I feel like.

[bottle]

Higganum, Connecticut, 1950's

I flirt with Patty Gessner. Another guy likes Patty too. During recess, out on the playground, he picks a fight. We're throwing roundhouse haymakers and missing by a lot. Suddenly I feel a pair of arms clamp my own arms to my side. It is the seventh grade teacher. He keeps my arms pinned while the other guy hits me.

That's how it felt recently in the forum when I wasn't reading don_budge's posts but he was reading mine and reacting in his inimitable fashion.

Well, never mind. In a few years Patty and I and the guy who hit me found ourselves in another school seven miles up the river in Middletown.

Hope, my recent partner, was in that school too. But it was time for Patty and me to graduate, and Patty's mother had written the graduation song.

We are leaving Central school-- ooh ah ooh.
And we hate to go away-- ah ooh ah.
We've enjoyed our brand new school-- ooh ah ooh.
And we wish that we could stay-- ooh ooh ooh.

The years have passed,
We're here at last
Now leaving dear old C.G.S. (Central Grammar School).
Though there's a tear
In every eye
We're moving on to separate lives.

CLASSMATES, now a fond farewell-- ah ooh ah,
For we hate to say goodbye.
We will all remember you-- ooh ah ooh.
Even though we say adieu
Even though we say adieu.

[bottle]

Answer to a Question

Because you can't leave anything alone.

[bottle]

Too Much

Too much sentimental slobbering over highly ranked tennis players. What you got for all of us other tennis players?

[bottle]

Nazi Goons

Nazi goons were not exactly known for their good sense of humor.

[bottle]

Puntzie Sounds All Right

It's the organism that takes walks with Puntzie that needs re-tooling and re-work.

[bottle]

On Your Mark

It's a new day. Get set. Go.

[bottle]

I think the tennis rancor in the forum has gotten worse not better over the years, John Yandell. Nabrug was definitely the worst, but these guys make Bungalo Bill seem like a teddy-bear. When I'm conversing with them I feel like the protagonist in DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler. I'm sorry if it offends too much for me to say so, but I think of these two guys as big Nazi goons even if they have been among my most faithful readers.

[bottle]

So why were you interested in the number of my books sold?

[10splayer]

Just another avid fan who can't stay away from my posts. And even checks on the circulation figures for my books.

No really, I heard the bounce on interstates are very "true". Give it a shot.

[bottle]

Just another avid fan who can't stay away from my posts. And even checks on the circulation figures for my books.

[10splayer]

Possible answers, all better than any you offered:

1) It isn't "innocuous" but rather substantial if technical, and people would rather be entertained than have to think.

2) It isn't "nonsense" but rather honest first-hand report, and something that is not nonsense is not easily dismissed-- dismissal being the thing a lazy reader most wants.

3) It's very personal, as I've said many times. These are MY STROKES arrived at in a different way. One doesn't have to accept them-- I've never argued for that. The methodology or way of arriving at them might be the most interesting thing here since that could apply to anyone's development of individualized strokes, i.e., THEIR STROKES. It could lead to less cookie cutter stuff. And keep one passionately involved in the game.

4) They don't know how to do self-feed and therefore would find it boring as you did when you recently tried it. One needs a very specific purpose. That's what makes self-feed sing and excite.

5) They don't want to risk the ire of the great blustering Tennis Nazi, the one who DOES participate in every word I write here at TennisPlayer although he shouldn't, the horseboy who calls himself don_budge.

Speaking of self feeds, many of us would like to see you try that on an interstate highway.

[bottle]

Have you noticed that nobody participates in your innocuous nonsense?

Possible answers, all better than any you offered:

1) It isn't "innocuous" but rather substantial if technical, and people would rather be entertained than have to think.

2) It isn't "nonsense" but rather honest first-hand report, and something that is not nonsense is not easily dismissed-- dismissal being the thing a lazy reader most wants.

3) It's very personal, as I've said many times. These are MY STROKES arrived at in a different way. One doesn't have to accept them-- I've never argued for that. The methodology or way of arriving at them might be the most interesting thing here since that could apply to anyone's development of individualized strokes, i.e., THEIR STROKES. It could lead to less cookie cutter stuff. And keep one passionately involved in the game.

4) They don't know how to do self-feed and therefore would find it boring as you did when you recently tried it. One needs a very specific purpose. That's what makes self-feed sing and excite.

5) They don't want to risk the ire of the great blustering Tennis Nazi, the one who DOES participate in every word I write here at TennisPlayer although he shouldn't, the horseboy who calls himself don_budge.

[bottle]

I have an idea for a possible solution. Try to do what I did. That would be not to read the other person's posts. Simply do not read anything I write. And don't comment on it either. The trouble, in practice, was that I would be holding forth on some subject of my choosing, and you, don_budge would then use your incredible extra-sensory perception to know that you just received a personal attack. But you didn't. That was coincidence of the kind that I had warned might happen. On the other hand I can just stop writing letters here. It won't matter to ANYBODY: how do I know? Because don_budge says so. And it certainly won't matter to me since I'm going to be very busy with my 125 little don_budges, tough guys and gals from Detroit who somehow missed Aretha's song.

We come back to my arguing that there was a place in the world for Vic Braden type whirling dervish serves. That set off 10splayer. He went ballistic! It must have been the worst thing he heard in his whole life. And now, today or yesterday, can't remember which, I opined that one shouldn't hit a semi-open or open Ellie-bam if one had good alternatives. And this caused don_budge to go ballistic! to become more than unhinged! to launch into a vast diatribe.

No no, I know don_budge better than that. He doesn't care anything about the Ellie-bam, doesn't even know what one is. He had been angered by something else in the website but arbitrarily decided to put his anger there with the Ellie-bam so as to do what he felt would be maximum tennis damage.